Town Square

Bond Oversight

Original post made
by Contra Costa County Grand Jury, Danville,
on Nov 14, 2012

Statute grants the Grand Jury with power to investigate and report upon the operations, accounts, and records of our County, cities, and special districts. The Grand Jury has completed an investigation and submitted a report titled:

Report 1208

“School Bond Oversight Committees
Raising the Bar”

The report states that “…school districts are required to appoint an independent citizens’ bond oversight committee. These committees are required to actively review the expenditure of bond funds, and to verify that the funds are being spent only for authorized purposes. The legislature has declared its intent that oversight committees shall promptly alert the public to any waste or improper expenditure of bond funds.”

The report further states that “…these oversight committees also have broad discretionary powers and authority to carry out their responsibilities, and to ensure the prudent and cost-effective expenditure of bond funds.”

The report includes the following recommendations:

• “A district should consider ways to recruit independent, qualified and motivated applicants from the community, including announcements in local media, district newsletters, solicitations to local civic and professional groups and mailing postcards to residents to solicit applications when the ballot materials are mailed.”
• “A district should require all candidates for bond oversight committees to submit written applications listing their background, qualifications, a statement of interest, and disclosure of any prior employment by, or prior involvement or business relationship with, the district.”
• The district’s annual independent performance audits should be detailed and comprehensive enough in scope, including a review of procurement practices, to allow the committee to identify waste and to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the district’s construction and facilities improvement program.”

All of the Grand Jury’s reports can be found online at the Superior Court website: